The site’s John Gruber said he expected the tablet to land in September, bringing it in line with the date for iPod product refreshes.

Moreover, rather than wait a full year and a half from the launch of iPad 2 and allow the competition a window in which to catch-up, Apple will drop the iPad 3 this year, Gruber predicted.

However, that looks increasingly unlikely today, after supply chain sources cited by Digitimes said they “have not yet received any notice for next generation iPad products”. So if Apple does harbour plans to drop a third pad on us, it’d better get a swerve on.

The sources also said the success of the iPad 2 (it’s estimated to have sold in the region of 2.5 million units since launching last month) mitigates against a refresh in the short term.

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